Text 5 ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

1. Read the title of the short article below. What kind of pollution does it refer to? Read the article and check your predictions. Is this a problem where you live?

Invisible pollution

What do you think of when you hear the word pollution? Factories with black smoke, dirty rivers and beaches, piles of rubbish? But what many people dont realize is that there is another kind of pollution you cant see but which affects us all wherever we live, at any time of day or night, and which can make our lives a disaster  noise. According to the Environmental Health Department, noise pollution is now one of the worst problems in cities and towns.

2. Here is a list of ten noises which most annoy people:

neighbours who make noise, building sites, planes flying low, heavy traffic, car alarms, drivers hooting and / or playing their car radios at full volume with the windows open, road works, noisy parties going on until late, dogs barking (especially late at night), pubs and shops playing loud disco music.

Number the noises from 1 to 10 starting with the one which you hate most and which is most frequent in the place where you live. Can you add anything? Compare your list with what other students have.

3. What are other curses of living in a city? What can be done to help city-dwellers?

4. Read the text and fill in the gaps with the expressions from the list:

harm the environment air pollution banning cars from city centers release harmful gases cause breathing problems fines to be paid

The two main causes of (1) in our cities are cars and factories. Both (2) into the air which not only damage the atmosphere, but also (3) among city-dwellers. By (4) and increasing (5) by companies which allow their factories to (6) , we could improve the condition of the air in our cities.

5. Read the text below.

The development of transport is closely associated with a wide range of environmental problems. Transport sector affects the quality of life, the health and well-being of people, plants and animals. Over the past few decades there has been increasing public concern over the detrimental effects of transport which can do serious harm to the environment. There are some who even question whether the material benefits justify the sacrifices, especially where these sacrifices are distributed unevenly within society and between geographical areas. Those who suffer the problems may not experience the benefits. Furthermore, it is argued, consideration should be given to conservation of the physical environment upon which future generations will depend.

The pressures on the whole eco-system are today simply enormous. Much of this is due to the fact that world population is growing at 1,000 million every ten years. It is not just the number of people, but their increased expectations which are the problem. Increased expectations mean increased agriculture, manufacturing, personal transport, logistics activities, etc., and further deterioration of the environment.

The major sources of pollution are;

Emissions of gases occur from many processes. Some of them are natural processes from volcanic eruptions to the breath of cows and other bodily processes. The internal combustion engine and other machines and processes cause pollution from the combustion of fossil fuels. The chief of these are:

c) sulphur dioxide - from fossil fuels and in particular coal-fired power stations. It combines with water to produce sulphurous acid which falls as 'acid rain' and kills trees, many of which cannot live in acid soil

d) various oxides of nitrogen - they combine with water to make acid rain

e) particulates (small particles of smoke and dirt which can be carcinogenic) - they are released by diesel engines

Global warming. The global ΡΞ2 output is the cause of the 'greenhouse effect', so-called because it acts like the glass in a greenhouse - the gases trap the heat of the sun and keep the earth 30 per cent warmer than it otherwise would be. It is this extra warmth that makes life possible, but any increase in global warming poses problems because the melting ice caps will raise ocean levels and threaten much low-lying land - a lot of it densely populated and intensively farmed.

Air pollution results from the emissions referred to above. It can be improved if emissions are reduced by the use of catalytic converters. The chief ways of reducing emissions are to reduce fuel consumption, to use cleaner fuels and to change the ways we travel - using the lorry less and the railway more, for example, or using the car less and our two feet, and perhaps the bicycle, more.

Noise pollution. Noise is the major pollutant, as those who live alongside busy roads or near major airports win know, Logisticians are well aware of the problems and should take every care to consider the likely noise from each new vehicle.

Marine pollution is chiefly a matter of oil pollution after accidents at sea, or the deliberate dischargeof pollutants in the process of washing tanks. Other problems are chemical pollutants resulting from the loss overboard of containers or deck cargoes of chemicals, fertilizers and similar products. The logistics manager is concerned to ensure that such incidents are kept to a minimum.

Every logistical operation is going to contribute to environmental pollution of one sort or another. It is essential for each company to have the policy of making environmental awareness an integral part of its performance. It will require the preparation and adoption of a training programme involving all levels of staff. Road transport can be made 'greener' and more efficient in several ways. Fuel consumption can be reduced by fitting speed limiters and by training drivers in correct driving techniques, which incidentally also reduce accidents. Considerable further savings in fuel consumption can be made by reducing drag, through the development of more aerodynamic vehicles. Greener fuels canalso be used and one of these is the development of a lorry engine powered by natural gas, which has a less harmful emission than normal fuels.

Nowadays, all forms of transport have strict regulations regarding the notification, packing, marking and stowage of all hazardous cargoes. For example, in the UK drivers carrying hazardous goods in tank vehicles should have three marker boards: one at the rear end and one on either side. They indicate the nature of the hazard, and have coded instructions giving advice to emergency services in event of an accident. The driver must also carrywritten emergency instructions. On international journeys hazard warning panels at the front and rear of the vehicle must be installed. The driver must carry a Trem (transport emergency) card giving details of the hazard and actions to be taken.

Many of the major environmental issues are the subject of intergovernmental negotiations and are likely to affect firms and companies in a regulatory way. At the same time many customers are eco-sensitive and so are employees. A company should therefore have a clear, sensitive policy on environmental matters, and preferably a standing environmental committee with wide staff representation to keep such matters under review. One of the activities of such an environmental committee should be to conduct an environmental audit of all the company's activities to pinpoint weaknesses in the company's behaviour, and propose remedies to each problem. Such an audit should be rolled forward every six months to review the progress made, consider the environmental impact of new contracts, new procedures, etc., and anticipate criticisms so that their cause can be eliminated before problems arise.